Storage control apparatus capable of analyzing volume information and a control method thereof

ABSTRACT

A storage control apparatus capable of analyzing volume information and a control method thereof is provided. The present storage device controller comprises a volume information analysis module, volume information memory, a display device interface and a power regulation circuit to display the volume information on the display device through the display device interface so that a user can independently read the storage medium and analyze the volume information, regardless of whether it is connected or disconnected.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a storage control apparatus capable ofanalyzing volume information and a control method thereof. Thisinvention provides a storage apparatus control system that can read astorage medium, analyze the storage volume information loaded in thestorage medium, control the display apparatus to display the storagevolume information, and provides the information for reference by auser.

2. Description of the Related Art

As technology improves, information apparatuses, such as cell phones,notebooks, and personal digital assistants are becoming more and moreportable. As such, portable storage apparatuses are also beingdeveloped. Because flash memory has been adopted as an industry standardand its manufacturing process is improving constantly, large volumeportable storage apparatuses are becoming more and more widespread.

Currently, storage apparatuses that are light, thin, short and small andhave large volumes include such draw type storage apparatuses as Zipdisks, optical disks and memory cards, etc., and portable storageapparatuses such as portable disks with USB interfaces, external harddisks, etc. A storage apparatus has the sole function of providingmemory space upon which information can be recorded. A storage apparatuscan only accessed by the operating system. Moreover, draw typetransmitting apparatuses such as Zip drives, CD-ROMs and card-readingmachines, are transmitting mediums between draw type storage devices andoperating systems.

The operation of a portable or draw type storage apparatus such assector partitioning, sector formatting, reading and writing file, canonly be operated and controlled by the operating system. Therefore,storage apparatuses that store information can't display relevantinformation (such as free space, the volume or a label, etc.) about thestorage apparatus itself after it is disconnected from the operatingsystem.

The prior controller embedded in the storage apparatus has the solefunction of showing how much memory space is occupied. Please refer toFIG. 1 that shows a schematic diagram of the prior storage controlsystem. The storage control system 10 comprises of a microprocessor unit11, a host system interface 12, a storage medium interface 13, a datatransfer buffer 14, a program memory 15, a data memory 16, a powerregulation circuit 17 and a clock oscillation circuit 18.

The host system interface 12 of the storage control system 10 connectsto an application system 101. The application system 101 is aninformation product, for example a computer system or a digital stillcamera. The storage control system 10 also connects to a storage medium102 through the storage medium interface 13. The microprocessor unit 11of the storage control system 10 connects to the application system 101through the protocol of the host system interface 12, analyzes commandscoming from the application system 101, and accesses the storage medium102. By use of the above method, the application system 101 transmitsdata to and gets information from the storage medium 102 via the storagecontrol system 10.

The operation of the prior portable or draw type storage apparatus, forexample, sector partitioning, sector formatting, reading and writingfile, is operated and controlled by the external application system. Thedrawbacks of the prior art are described below:

-   -   1. It is inconvenient for the user. The user can only know what        information is stored on the storage apparatus when the storage        control system is working and operating through a specified        operating system. If the available volume of the storage        apparatus is inadequate, the user needs to buy another one or        replace it with another type of storage apparatus.    -   2. The load of the storage system increases. A storage apparatus        is a mainstream storage apparatus can't calculate the storage        volume and the available volume by itself. It still needs an        application system to do this task. This is opposite to the        trend of reducing the loading an application system. Moreover,        when a draw type storage apparatus, such as a memory card, is        applied to a portable device with a limited power source, such        as a digital still camera, it must be restarted in order to        obtain the residual volume of the storage apparatus. It is        wasteful of power to do such a redundant action.

This present invention adds a volume information analysis module, avolume information memory, a display device interface, and a powerregulation circuit to the storage control system. The present inventiondoesn't increase power usage or costs, and achieves the goal ofanalyzing and displaying the volume information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a storagecontrol system with a volume information analysis module and a volumeinformation memory. The storage control system can access the storagemedium by itself regardless of whether the storage apparatus isconnected or unconnected and can analyze the volume information of theloading storage apparatus.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a storagecontrol system with a control-driving interface for the display device.The storage control system can be easily connected to the display deviceand can display the volume information on the display device.

The present storage control system comprises a storage medium interface,a host system interface, a data transfer buffer, a microprocessor unit,a program memory, a data memory, a volume information analysis module, avolume information memory, a display device interface, a powerregulation circuit and a clock oscillation circuit.

The host system interface connects to an application system, the storagemedium interface connects to a storage medium, and the display deviceinterface connects to a display device. The power regulation circuitconnects to an external power source to regulate and supply the power toall the units in the storage control system. The clock oscillationcircuit connects to an external RC resonance circuit to generate a clockand supply the clock to all the units in the storage control system. Thecontrol firmware is loaded into the program memory; the microprocessorunit executes the control procedure to control the module process. Thecontrol firmware starts up the storage medium analysis, records anddisplays the storage volume information under the storage apparatusregardless of whether it is connected or disconnected. During operation,the data memory provides storage space to save the control procedure,the necessary variables and data structures, etc. The volume informationmemory is used to save the volume information and as a reference whendoing analysis. The volume information analysis module is used foranalyzing the volume information.

For further understanding of the invention, reference is made to thefollowing detailed description illustrating the embodiments and examplesof the invention. The description is only for illustrating the inventionand is not intended to be considered limiting of the scope of the claim.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings included herein provide a further understanding of theinvention. A brief introduction of the drawings is as follows:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the prior storage control system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the present storage control system andits peripheral devices;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the present storage control system;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the starting-up procedure of the controlmethod of the present storage volume information analysis;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the detailed starting-up procedure of thecontrol method of the present storage volume information analysis;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of volume information analysis of the controlmethod of the present storage volume information analysis; and

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of detailed volume information analysis of thecontrol method of the present storage volume information analysis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is applied to storage apparatuses, such as harddisks, portable disks, etc. The control system of the storage apparatushas a volume information analysis module, a volume information memory, adisplay device interface and a power regulation circuit, etc. Thiscontrol system can read the storage volume information loaded in thestorage medium when the storage apparatus is disconnected, analyze thestorage volume information and display the volume information on thedisplay device through the display device interface as a reference forthe user.

Please refer to FIG. 2, which shows a schematic diagram of the presentstorage control system and its peripheral devices. The storage devicecontroller 20 is a control circuit implemented in an IC, and comprises aplurality of control interfaces that electrically connect to theexternal apparatuses. The control interfaces include a host systeminterface 22, a display device interface 24 and a storage mediuminterface 26, etc. The storage device controller 20 manages the digitalinformation recorded on the storage medium through the host systeminterface 22 and controls the access processes, for example,reading/writing to the storage apparatus. The storage device controller20 is built in or is externally connected to a storage medium 25 andanalyzes it through the storage medium interface 26. Next, it getsdigital information and generates the corresponding storage volumeinformation. Finally, it displays the information on the display device23.

The storage medium interface 26 is an interface that the storage devicecontroller 20 uses to transmit the digital data to the storage medium25. The storage medium interface 26 connects electrically to the storagedevice controller 20 and transmits data to the application system 21 andthe display device 23 through the storage device controller 20. The hostsystem interface 22 is an interface that the storage device controller20 uses to transmit read/write commands to and the digital data uses toaccess the application system 21, for example a computer system, aportable access device or a portable digital device, etc. The displaydevice interface 24 connects to the display device 23 via a built-in orexternal method. The storage device controller 20 receives the controlsignal from the application system 21 and gets the volume informationfrom the storage medium 25. It then displays the storage volumeinformation on the display device 23 as a reference for the user.

Referring to FIG. 2, the application system 21 connects to the storagedevice controller 20 through the host system interface 22 and connectsto the storage medium 25 through the storage medium interface 26. Thenthe application system 21 analyzes and deals with the information fromthe storage medium 25, such as its occupied space, residual space, filestatus and volume label, through a volume information analysis module(not shown in the figure) and displays this information on the displaydevice 23 through the display device interface 24. Please refer to FIG.3 that shows the best embodiment of the present schematic diagram of thepresent storage control system. The storage device controller 20 is thedominant frame. The application system 21 connects to the storage medium25 and the display device 23 through the storage device controller 20,it manages the digital information of the storage medium 25 and controlsthe process of reading/writing digital information to generate thevolume information of the storage. Finally, it displays the volumeinformation on the display device 23. The storage device controller 20comprises:

a storage medium interface 26, provided as an interface to transmit andaccess digital information between the storage device controller 20 andthe storage medium 25.

a host system interface 22, provided as an interface to transmit andaccess the commands and the digital information between the storagedevice controller 20 and the application system 21.

a data transfer buffer 38, connected electrically to the storage mediuminterface 26, the host system interface 22 and a microprocessor unit 31.The microprocessor unit 31 temporarily saves the data transmittingbetween the application system 21 and the storage medium 25 by the datatransfer buffer 38. The mass data can be transmitted directly betweenthe storage medium interface 26 and the host system interface 22 throughthe data transfer buffer 38, without passing through the microprocessorunit 31.

a microprocessor unit 31, connected electrically to the module of thestorage device controller 20. The microprocessor unit 31 executes thefirmware control process that is saved in the program memory, andtransmits data to the storage device, the storage medium management, thevolume information analysis, and the volume information display etc.

a program memory 34, connected electrically to the microprocessor unit31. The program memory 34 is used for saving the firmware program of thestorage device controller 20 and is used for recording the firmwarecontrol process executed by the microprocessor unit 31.

a data memory 35, connected electrically to the microprocessor unit 31.The data memory 35 is used for saving the control variants or the datastructure that is necessary for the firmware control process.

a volume information analysis module 33, is used for analyzing theinformation of the storage medium 25 through the control of the storagedevice controller 31 to generate the volume information. The volumeinformation analysis module 33 can be integrated with the firmwarecontrol process of the microprocessor unit 31 and is executed by theanalysis by the microprocessor unit 31.

a volume information memory 32, is a storage space for the volumeinformation. The volume information memory 32 connects electrically tothe volume information analysis module 33 and the microprocessor unit 31and is used for integrating the common data memory to record the volumeinformation.

a display device interface 24, is a data transmission interface betweenthe storage device controller 20 and the display device 23.

a regulation circuit 37, regulates the inputted power and provides theelectrical power to the modules included in the storage devicecontroller 20.

a clock oscillation circuit 36, generates an oscillation to produce aclock with a specified frequency and provides the clock to the modulesincluded in the storage device controller 20.

FIG. 3 is an embodiment of the storage device controller 20 with an ICexternally connected to the storage medium 25, the application system 21and the display device 23. The display device 23 displays the volumeinformation of the storage medium 25. The volume information analysismodule 33 included in the storage device controller 20 analyzes andgenerates the volume information according to the information loaded inthe storage medium 25. After that, the volume information is saved inthe volume information memory 32. The volume information of the volumeinformation memory 32 is provided for comparison with the updated data.The method records the address of the related data saved in the memoryand checks whether incoming volume information is the same as the volumeinformation of the volume information memory 32. According to theresult, it is decided whether or not to re-display the volumeinformation. Finally, the microprocessor unit 31 displays the updatevolume information on the display device 23 through the display deviceinterface 24. The volume information includes the partition area, a filesystem and the volume label of the storage medium 25. Moreover, thevolume information analysis module 33 also scans the storage medium 25to analyze and calculate the status and the occupied space of thestorage medium 25 (for example, residual space, occupied space ordamaged space, etc.). By reading and scanning the storage medium 25, theupdated volume information is obtained. Next, the microprocessor unit 31displays the volume information on the display device 23 through thedisplay device interface 24.

The built-in or external display device 23 can be a bi-stable liquidcrystal display. That means the liquid crystal display can show thestable status by two different methods. In other words, the so-calledbi-stable liquid crystal display can display the two stable statuses bychanging the incoming voltage and can be distinguished by its opticalcharacteristics. The bi-stable liquid crystal display can update thedisplay information when power is supplied to it, but it can't updatethe display information when there is no power supply. In this case itlatches the lasted information on the screen. Therefore, this displaydevice can display the volume information when it is connected,disconnected or when its power source has been turned off. This allowsthe user to observe the storage volume information with the least powerconsumption possible.

Another characteristic of this invention is that the storage devicecontroller 20 can carry out the analysis described previously after thesystem has been started up and can give a command through theapplication system 21 to access the storage device 25 and transmitinformation. The present invention can match up the analysis result ofthe volume information to detect and judge whether the previousoperation affects the application information of the storage volume,directly supports the access operation of the application system whenthe previous access operation doesn't affect the volume information, sothat the original efficiency of the operating system is unaffected. Whenthe previous access operation affects the volume information, thisinvention can adjust the volume information of the storage devicecontroller 20 according to the information changed by the applicationsystem 21 after the application system 21 has finished the accessoperation and updated the volume information displayed on the displaydevice 23 through the display device interface 24.

This invention also saves the analysis result into the volumeinformation memory 32 when it executes the first time analysis to speedup the update operation. That means it revises the volume informationaccording to the previous volume information saved on the volumeinformation memory 32 and the data written to the storage device by theapplication system to speed up the analysis and updating the displayoperation.

The present control method for a storage control apparatus capable ofanalyzing volume information comprises a storage volume informationanalysis starting up method and a volume information analysis method asdescribed below.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which shows a flow chart for a starting-upprocedure for the control method of the present storage volumeinformation analysis. The steps comprises:

Step S41: Turning on the power starts up the storage control system,including the storage medium, the application system and the displaydevice that connects to the storage control system.

Step S42: After the operating system is initialized, the master bootrecord—the MBR—is read.

Step S43: After the operating system starts up, the storage volumeparameters are obtained from the master boot record, e.g. a volumelabel, or the volume information from the file system.

Step S44: The volume information from the storage volume parameters iscalculated, e.g. the used volume or the residual volume.

Step S45: The corresponding information is displayed on the displaydevice through the display device interface.

Step S46: After finishing the operation the device enters standby statusto wait for the next starting up procedure.

In order to accelerate the procedure for the volume informationanalysis, this invention reads the file allocation table (FAB) from thestorage medium and saves the data in the volume information memory. Thenthe microprocessor unit sets and starts up the volume informationanalysis module and automatically accumulates the used space occupied bythe files. The previous process can also be executed by implementing thevolume information analysis module with the firmware and can directlyexecute the analysis via the microprocessor unit. After finishing theanalysis, the result of the analysis and the important volumeinformation is saved in the volume information memory, e.g. 1. themaster boot record (MBR), 2. the BIOS parameter block (BPB), 3. thevolume of the storage device, 4. the residual volume of the storagedevice. The important volume information in the volume informationmemory is provided as a reference when updating the volume informationto accelerate the speed of the following analysis.

Please refer to FIG. 5, which shows a flow chart for the detailedstarting-up procedure for the control method of the present storagevolume information analysis.

Step S501: The storage device controller of the storage control systemis started up.

Step S502: The status of the module of the storage device controller ischecked.

Step S503: The status of the storage medium is checked.

Step S504: The master boot record (MBR) of the storage medium is read.The master boot record stores the partition table. Before the data ofthe storage medium is accessed, the start and end address of thepartition has to be known.

Step S505: The start address of the partition from the master bootrecord is obtained.

Step S506: The BIOS parameter block from the start address of thepartition is read. The BIOS parameter block is located in the firstsector of the master boot record and stores the information of thestorage medium, e.g. the file system, the boot program and the volumeinformation of the present invention.

Step S507: The volume label from the BIOS parameter block is obtained.The present invention uses the volume label as an identification markfor the storage device by displaying the volume label on the displaydevice. It can also be the code of the user, the name of the user or anumber that identifies the user.

Step S508: The related volume parameters is obtained, including itssector size, cluster size, reserved sectors, total sectors and filesystem, etc.

Step S509: Checks are run to establish whether the volume parameters arecorrect and if the file system is compatible.

Step S510: The address of the root direction according to the address ofthe BIOS parameter block and the volume parameters is calculated.

Step S511: The initial address of the file allocation table and thevolume size are calculated.

Step S512: All of the file allocation tables are read to accumulate theused volume space and store it on the buffer memory.

Step S513: The total used volume and the available volume are calculatedaccording to the file allocation table.

Step S514: The volume information is recorded onto the volumeinformation memory of the storage device controller, including theaddress range of the MBR, the BPB and the file allocation table, thecurrent volume label, the current volume size and the current availablevolume, etc. The volume information memory further includes some volumeinformation that is provided so that the data can be updated later. Thismeans that the volume information memory records the storage address ofthe previous related data, so that the present invention can quicklycheck whether the incoming data will affect the volume information ornot and judge whether to execute the updating display operation.

Step S515: The microprocessor unit controls the display device interfaceto display the latest volume information on the display device.

Step S516: After updating the volume information and finishing thedisplay operation, standby status is entered.

When the storage device enters standby status, the host system interfacestarts up and the storage device connects to the application system toexecute the volume information analysis procedure, shown in FIG. 6 andFIG. 7. If the storage device is disconnected (meaning that thecontroller of the storage device isn't connected to the applicationsystem), the storage device remains in standby status and maintainsdisplaying the latest volume information.

Please refer to FIG. 6, which shows a flow chart for volume informationanalysis for the control method of the present storage volumeinformation analysis.

Step S61: The host system interface is started up, meaning that thestorage device controller and the control interface of the applicationsystem are started up and they wait for the control signal from theapplication system.

Step S62: The connection status between the storage device controllerand the application system is checked. If it is disconnected, it keepschecking for the connection status until it enters connected status.

Step S63: The storage device controller detects whether the volumeinformation has been altered or not. If the volume information doesn'tchange, the display volume information doesn't need to be updated.

Step S64: If the application system executes an operation to affect thevolume information, the volume information is updated.

Step S65: The updated volume information is displayed on the displaydevice.

Step S66: Standby status is entered after the display operation isfinished.

Please refer to FIG. 7, which shows a flow chart for detailed volumeinformation analysis for the control method of the present storagevolume information analysis. The steps comprises:

Step S701: The host system interface that connects the storage devicecontroller with the application system is started up.

Step S702: The storage device is checked to establish whether it isconnected or not.

Step S703: If it is disconnected, the connection status between thestorage device controller and the application system will be continuallychecked until a connection is established.

Step S704: When it is connected, the application system accesses thestorage device through the host system interface to start up theoperating system protocol.

Step S705: The storage device waits for a command from the applicationsystem, for example deleting, saving or formatting, etc. The storagedevice controller judges whether to update the volume informationaccording to the command from the application system.

Step S706: If the application system does not send a command, standbystatus is maintained until such time as a command is received.

Step S707: The storage device controller judges whether the command ofthe application system is a reading command or a getting the statuscommand.

Step S708: If it is a reading command, the volume does not change andthe volume information does not need to be updated and the operationreturns to step S707.

Step S709: If the command from the application is an action command(e.g. a writing or a deleting command) that will influence the volumeinformation, it is established whether the command will affect thevolume information or not. If the command does not affect the volumeinformation, for example overwriting the file, moving the file, orduplicating the file, the volume information is updated and theoperation goes back to step S707. In other words, if the applicationrequests a reading information operation or a responding the statusoperation, the volume information doesn't change. Therefore, the storagedevice controller can response to the operation instantly and transmitthe data according to the parameters of the command.

Step S710: If the writing command of the application system affects thevolume information, it triggers the operation of updating the volumeinformation.

Step S711: The writing command is executed and the data is transmitted.

Step S712: The storage device controller compares the range of thewriting address to judge whether the address belongs to the addressrange of the important information, for example, the address of the MBR,the BPB, the root direction, or the sub direction, etc. When the rangeof the writing address is the same as the previous address range thatrecords the important information, it will affect the importantinformation. The storage device controller records this status and therange of the writing address. Moreover, after finishing the write actionand data transmission, the storage device controller reads the storagemedium and updates the volume information.

Step S713: The content of the volume information memory is updated.Because the writing operation doesn't affect all of the content of thevolume information, the storage device controller only needs to analyzethe content that is affected by the writing operation. The storagedevice controller analyzes and calculates the volume informationaccording to the volume information in the volume information memory andthe address range that is changed by the writing operation. Once thelatest result is obtained, it updates the volume information in thevolume information memory.

Step S714: The content of the display device is updated. This isdependent upon on whether or not the start address of the input data andthe length of the input data affect the volume information. If so, theupdating operation is executed.

Step S715: Standby status is entered and the operation waits for thenext command after finishing the operation.

The present storage device controller is comprised of the volumeinformation analysis module, the volume information memory and a displaydevice interface to display the volume information on the display devicethrough the display device interface as a reference for the user. Itindependently reads the storage medium and analyzes the volumeinformation. The invention doesn't affect the efficiency of theoperating system caused by adding this function to the above procedure,such as recording, comparing and judging and enhances the speed ofupdating the volume information when the application system changes thestorage volume information. The description above only illustratesspecific embodiments and examples of the invention. The invention shouldtherefore cover various modifications and variations made to theherein-described structure and operations of the invention, providedthey fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the followingappended claims.

1. a storage control apparatus capable of analyzing volume information,the application system connects and controls a storage medium and adisplay device through a storage device controller, the storage devicecontroller comprising: a storage medium interface, provided as aninterface to transmit and access digital information between the storagedevice controller and the storage medium; a host system interface,provided as an interface to transmit and access the commands and thedigital information between the storage device controller and theapplication system; a data transfer buffer, connected electrically tothe storage medium interface and the host system interface, the datatransfer buffer is a buffer for data transmission between theapplication system and the storage medium and transmits to amicroprocessor unit; a microprocessor unit, connected electrically tothe module of the storage device controller, executes the operationsthrough the signal transmitted within the data transfer buffer; a volumeinformation analysis module, used for analyzing the volume informationof the storage medium according to the information loaded in the storagemedium; and a display device interface, connected to the microprocessorunit for controlling the display device.
 2. The storage controlapparatus capable of analyzing the volume information of claim 1,further comprising: a volume information memory, connected electricallyto the volume information analysis module and the microprocessor unit,for recording the volume information of the storage medium; a programmemory, connected electrically to the microprocessor unit, for savingthe firmware program of the storage device controller; a data memory,connected electrically to the microprocessor unit, for saving thecontrol variants or the data structure that is necessary for thefirmware control process; a regulation circuit, for providing electricalpower to the modules included in the storage device controller; a clockoscillation circuit, connected to a RC circuit, for generating aoscillation to produce a clock with a specified frequency and providingthe clock to the modules included in the storage device controller 20.3. The storage control apparatus capable of analyzing the volumeinformation of claim 1, wherein the volume information of the storagemedium at least comprises an available space, a file system and a volumelabel.
 4. The storage control apparatus capable of analyzing the volumeinformation of claim 1, wherein the display device is a bi-stable liquidcrystal display.
 5. A control method capable of analyzing storage volumeinformation, the method includes a start-up method and an analysismethod, the control method comprising: initializing the operatingsystem; reading the master boot record (MBR); obtaining the storagevolume parameters; calculating the volume information from the storagevolume parameters; displaying the volume information on a displaydevice; and entering a standby status.
 6. The control method capable ofanalyzing storage volume information of claim 5, wherein the volumeinformation of the storage medium at least comprises an available space,a file system and a volume label, the volume information is saved on avolume information memory.
 7. The control method capable of analyzingstorage volume information of claim 5, wherein the step of displayingthe volume information displays the volume information on the displaydevice through a display device interface.
 8. A control method capableof analyzing storage volume information, the method includes a storagevolume information analysis starting up method and a volume informationanalysis method, the control method comprising: starting up a storagedevice controller; checking the status of the module of the storagedevice controller; checking the status of a storage medium; reading amaster boot record (MBR) of the storage medium; getting the startaddress of a partition of the master boot record; reading a BIOSparameter block (BPB) of the master boot record (MBR); obtaining aplurality of volume parameters; updating the volume information andobtaining the volume parameters of a display device; entering thestandby status; and executing the volume analysis method.
 9. The controlmethod capable of analyzing storage volume information of claim 8,wherein the volume information records the information of a master bootrecord (MBR), a BIOS parameter block (BPB) and a file allocation table(FAT).
 10. The control method capable of analyzing storage volumeinformation of claim 8, wherein the volume information at leastcomprises an available space, a file system and a volume label, thevolume information is saved on a volume information memory.
 11. Thecontrol method capable of analyzing storage volume information of claim8, wherein the step of displaying the volume information displays thevolume information on the display device through a display deviceinterface.
 12. The control method capable of analyzing storage volumeinformation of claim 8, wherein the BIOS parameter block (BPB) islocated in a first sector of the master boot record (MBR).
 13. Thecontrol method capable of analyzing storage volume information of claim8, wherein the volume parameter comprises a sector size, a cluster size,reserved sectors, total volume and a file system.
 14. The control methodcapable of analyzing storage volume information of claim 8, wherein thestep of executing the volume analysis method comprises: starting up ahost system interface, which means to start up the storage devicecontroller and the control interface of the application system to waitfor the control signal from the application system; checking theconnection status between the storage device controller and theapplication system; detecting whether the volume information has beenaltered or not; updating the volume information when the volumeinformation has been changed; displaying the updated volume informationon the display device; and entering standby status.
 15. The controlmethod capable of analyzing the storage volume information of claim 8,wherein the step of executing the volume analysis method comprises:starting up a host system interface that connects a storage devicecontroller with an application system; checking whether the storagedevice is disconnected or not; waiting for a command from theapplication system: judging a status of the command from the applicationsystem; triggering the operation of updating the volume information;executing the writing command and transmitting the data; updating thecontent of the volume information in a volume information memory;updating the content of the display device; and entering standby statusto wait for a next command.
 16. The control method capable of analyzingthe storage volume information of claim 15, wherein the step of checkingwhether the storage device is disconnected or not, if it isdisconnected, the connection status between continually monitors thestorage device controller and the application system until a connectionis detected, if it is connected, the application system accesses thestorage device through the host system interface to start up theoperating system protocol.
 17. The control method capable of analyzingthe storage volume information of claim 15, wherein the storage devicecontroller judges whether to update the volume information according tothe command from the application system, if the application system doesnot send a command, it maintains its standby status and waits for thecommand.
 18. The control method capable of analyzing the storage volumeinformation of claim 15, wherein when the application gives a readingcommand, there is no need to update the volume information.
 19. Thecontrol method capable of analyzing the storage volume information ofclaim 15, wherein the step of triggering the operation of updating thevolume information is dependent upon on whether the start address of theinput data and the length of the input data affect the volumeinformation. If so, the updating operation is executed.
 20. The controlmethod capable of analyzing the storage volume information of claim 15,wherein the step of entering the standby status to wait for next commandis a step of entering a waiting for command from the application systemstatus.